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February 2018

DentaLab NewsFebruary 2018
from Mainstreet Systems & Software

FAQ  DentaLab News

 

Starting in February...more web services

We have been pleased to see the strong emerging trend for organizations to maintain control and privacy for their core information while providing web services for a variety of purposes.   We have on our to-do list a number of projects for the upcoming year to add even more web services to the DentaLab software.

Already available this month:  Advanced Backup Protocol 

This has also been called the "everything" backup with lots of automatics and options.  See the article below for more details.

Now in beta-testing at two labs: DentalRx Direct  

This will be a third way to offer online prescription submittals and case coordination to your customers.  Previously, this service was available to those labs who already had a website or wanted to develop a new modern website with a portal for their customers.   This new way will provide a direct link to DQB.   Once beta-tests have been completed, we will be offering this choice.

On our development list: Special Desktop Authorizations  

This concept was inspired by the special desktops offered via MyQuickCloud remote services.   It differs in that each authorization will be specific to just one rep or one work center. The special desktops can be used remotely or in-house.  

This means that a rep (or sales/business development person) will have access only to those customers and their associated case information that have been assigned to the rep.   The authorization by work center has been designed for outsource points that have been assigned to a work center so that their specific case lists and schedules can be accessed with completions entered remotely.

The initial design has been drafted, but coding has just started.  We invite you to let us know your interests and submit suggestions on this project. 

Here are some of the web service options that are already available:  

From Intuit/QuickBooks: payment processing; shipping manager; sending invoices/reports via email; payroll processing, online banking, online backup

From Mainstreet/DQB:  customer/case emails; email notifications of cases received/shipped; DentalRx submittal of prescriptions and digital files, case coordination via your website; associating digital documents and files sent via email with case; online shipment tracking for delivery services such as UPS, Fedex, USPS; creation of PDF forms/reports for transmission via email; tech support and interactive educational webinars via the internet

The 2017-18 winter

This season here in Pennsylvania has been called a nuisance winter.   There have been no deep snowfalls but plenty of small ones, often followed by just enough melting to have the snow turn to black ice in the freezing morning temperatures.   Advances in technology allow us to stay off dangerous road conditions and connect to our office computers from home as long as we have electrical power.   If you reach our voicemail, be sure to leave your name, telephone number and the purpose of your call so that we can respond to you.  We also check on emails throughout the day.  

Looking ahead to March

We will be making several advances in our own technology in March.   These may cause some small disruptions in our service so we would like you to put these dates on your calendar:

Friday, March 2:   Our telephone system will be switched to Verizon Digital Voice beginning early afternoon. 

Week of March 12:   We ask that you do not schedule any updates or changes to your system configuration that could require remote technical support.  

Our offices will be closed on Friday, March 30.   This is Good Friday, as well as the start of Passover.  

 

    Easy, versatile software for the modern dental laboratory.

To answer your questions....

Q: What are some of the choices available for remote access to DQB? 

A: There has been a growing number of choices.  You will need to determine if you need access every day or just occasionally, whether you prefer to have a free service or pay a small fee for a higher level of service.  Here are the ones we have been told are being used with DQB: 

When remote access is occasional:

Teamviewer  (www.teamviewer.com):  both free and fee-paid service levels  

Remote Desktop Service:  included with Microsoft Windows

Chrome Remote Desktop:  free app from Google, requires use of Chrome browser

When remote access is every day:

My Quick Cloud (www.myquickcloud.com):  free trial, then small fee, major advantages are 1) a dedicated station is not needed at the lab 2) ability to create limited desktops

Logmein  (www.logmein.com):  free trial, then annual fee depending on level of service

GoToMyPC  (www.gotomypc.com):  free trial, then annual fee depending on level of service

To host QuickBooks and DQB on the internet: 

Amazon Web Services (aws.amazon.com);  fee depends on data usage and contract terms, one of the largest most secure services

 

Q: Can we setup a special column on the QuickBooks statement for the patient name? 

A: No, although DQB automatically transfers the patient name for each invoice, having a separate column is not an option within the QB statement template.  Here, however, is how you can create the effect of a patient column within the transaction column.  In the statement options, request just two fields to create columns of information:  the invoice number and the patient name.   This will give the dental office a clear identification for each transaction.   Sample:

INV #8625DL  Bender, Jake 

INV #8904DL  Anderson, Kay 

 

Q: When coordinating with the dental office, we sometimes want to determine what the invoice will be when entering/designing the case.  Can we do this? 

A: Yes.  From the Action menu, you can simply select Preview to develop an invoice based on the case design and the customer's price level.  This option does not save the preview.   If you want to save the invoice so that the actual bill matches any commitments you make, choose Advance Bill.   From Advance Bill, you can also generate an Estimate to provide an electronic or printed copy for the customer.   When the case is invoiced, the program first checks to see if there is an advance bill to use.

 

      With the same look and feel of QuickBooks.

New advanced backup protocol

Backing up your DentaLab for QuickBooks (DQB) SQL database is a very important component in the security and continuity of your business. Using the latest protocols and technology, we have developed a new approach to backups for you that will provide:

  • Automatic verification to assure that every backup is readable.
  • Automatic compression to ensure small backups.
  • Automatic logging of your backups with location, date and size. 
  • Greater speed, typically ranging from 2 minutes for a small lab to 15 for high-volume labs.
  • Choice of full or differential backup. Differential captures only the data that has changed since the last full backup.
  • Protocol designed for SQL that will assure backups are compatible with SQL upgrades.
  • The possibility for both local and online backups to cover more security concerns.
  • Automatic deletion of obsolete backups by date on the schedule you choose.
  • Setup by our tech support staff to ensure specifications and setups are correct.
  • Restore by our tech support should it be needed.

In addition, you will have options for:

  • One or more automatic backups on the schedule you choose.
  • Multiple backups (up to 64) to your choice of locations and devices.
  • Free online storage at highly secured data centers.  We are recommending Google Drive that offers up to 15GB of free storage.
  • Using your Google account, you will be able to monitor that your backups continue to be successful.
  • Option to purchase additional storage at affordable rates. An example:  Google Drive currently offers up to 100GB for $1.99/month.
  • Backups for DQB Images Supplement scans and documents can be transferred directly to Google or another online service to save time and space. 
  • Use of additional CHECKSUM technology for very large databases to ensure all pages are written to disk and ready for potential restore.
  • A choice of encryption types depending on your SQL version.

The one-time fee for licensing, coordination and setting up this new protocol will be $200 USD.  There are no monthly or annual fees.   If changes to the specifications and schedules are desired after the initial setup or if a restoration is needed, those who have a service agreement will have the option to use their non-billable time for this.

A review of the case-related dates

We are often asked about the dates involved with cases entered into DQB.  First of all, near the top of the case entry screen are five critical dates:  

Enter:  This is automatically set to the date the case is first entered into DQB. 

Start:   This is the date to start scheduling the case.  It is initially set to the next workday after entry. If a case is reactivated after being in prebooked, try-in or on-hold status, it is set to the reactivation date.

End: Once a case is scheduled, this is set to the scheduled date of the last case item.

Ship:  Once a case is scheduled, this is set to the End Date as the planned date to ship.

Request:  This is the date requested by the dental office to have the completed case delivered.  In Options/Case Settings, an option can be set to default this date to a specified number of work days after entry.  If the ship date plus the customer's days to ship will not meet the request date, the program will issue an alert. 

All of the above dates have default or automatic settings by the program, but can be overwritten.   In addition, the following dates are recorded for the case:

Actual Shipped:   If shipment is entered via the Quality Control/Ship menu option.

Case Item Scheduled:  Will be entered by automatic or manual scheduling of case items in case entry

Case Item Completion:  Can be updated in a variety of ways:  via case entry, barcode scanning, touch tablet workflow app, item completions by work center, option to set automatically when invoiced  

Invoiced:  Updated by single or batch invoicing in DQB

For these dates, you can specify in Options/Case Settings/Dates to include the time with the date.  You can also choose options to have automatic date and status settings such as marking all case items completed when the case is invoiced.  

We recommend that you also review the topic on Case Scheduling in the Blog section of our website:  www.mainstreetsystems.net

If you wish to be removed, reply to this email with the subject "unsubscribe".

   

Customization is available for all products.

Contact us at 1-800-257-4535 or www.mainstreetsystems.net.

"Everything about this software is excellent, truly outstanding. I wish I had this 30 years ago when I was first starting."

Jan Rainey
Smile Quest Studio, Texas


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